6 flood insurance claims·$54,989 paid·5 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Highland County, Virginia. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from summer thunderstorms dominates the flood profile of Highland County, Virginia. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 18 flash flood events resulting in 1 death, alongside 10 general flood events. Heavy rainfall events are driven by slow-moving frontal boundaries and moist tropical airmasses. For example, on July 18, 2025, a moist tropical airmass brought training thunderstorms that dropped two to locally six inches of rainfall, causing flooding and flash flooding. Earlier that summer on June 16, 2025, showers and thunderstorms along a slow-moving frontal boundary produced one to four inches of rain across the county over a six-hour period.
National Flood Insurance Program records indicate historical claims across different zones. Zone A recorded 4 claims with an average payout of $19,656 and an average recorded water depth of 1 inch. Zone X recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $15,677 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Zone X Unshaded recorded 1 claim with an average payout of $0 and an average recorded water depth of 5 inches. Properties located in Zone A and Zone X should pay the most attention to flood risk given the documented historical claims and vulnerability to intense localized rainfall.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
In flood insurance claims here that reported a flood depth, the average was 4 inches.
Drawn to scale against an 80-inch door. Even a few inches soaks flooring, the bottom of the drywall and anything plugged in near the floor.
Average of the depths reported on claims (zero and implausible values left out); FEMA’s record doesn’t say exactly where each depth was measured. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP claims.
The worst year was 2003, with 3 claims and $39,312 paid, the year of Severe Winter Storm, Record/near Record Snowfall, Heavy Rain,floodind, and Mudslide and Hurricane Isabel.
Bar height is scaled by square root so ordinary years stay visible next to the worst one. NFIP claims by year of loss. Source: OpenFEMA.
8 NOAA storm reports from Highland County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Virginia flood stories →
22 federal disaster declarations since 1977, 5 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Severe Winter Storm | Jan 22, 2026 |
| Hurricane Florence | Sep 13, 2018 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Jan 22, 2016 |
| Hurricane Sandy | Oct 26, 2012 |
| Severe Storms And Straight-line Winds | Jun 29, 2012 |
| Severe Winter Storms And Snowstorms | Feb 5, 2010 |
| Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm | Dec 18, 2009 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding | Jun 23, 2006 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
28 since 1996: 18 flash floods and 10 river or area floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Jul 18, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 16, 2025 | — |
| Flood | Jun 13, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Mar 1, 2021 | — |
| Flood | Jun 18, 2020 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 28, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 12, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jun 27, 2006 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flood · Jul 18, 2025. An anomalously moist tropical airmass resided over Virginia bringing numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Thunderstorms trained over portions of central Virginia bringing rainfall amounts of two to locally six inches. This resulted in instances of flooding and flash flooding.
Flood · Jun 16, 2025. Showers and thunderstorms along a slow moving frontal boundary produced rainfall amounts of one to four inches across Highland County, VA over the course of six hours.
Flood · Jun 13, 2021. A cold front combined with an unstable atmosphere, plenty of moisture, and a light flow aloft to cause isolated flooding instances over the Potomac Highlands of Virginia as well as central Virginia.
Flood · Mar 1, 2021. Low pressure over the midwestern United States brought a warm front across the region February 28th. Warm advection precipitation, enhanced by upslope flow and favorable upper jet dynamics, lead to an inch or two of rainfall in western portions of our forecast area. This, along with partial melting of snowpack in the mountains, lead to some isolated flooding across eastern western portions of our forecast area tha…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Highland County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.